Chapter Text
“Daniel, could you stay at the front for the next hour?” Lando wipes over the counter, making sure the place looks more or less clean before smoothening his apron. “I have the Russell appointment in..,” he checks his phone, “five minutes.”
“Yeah sure, no worries, mate.” Daniel flashes him an easy smile, leaning against the counter, looking as relaxed as ever while running a hand through his dark curls and Lando nods, making sure there is no leftover dough under his nails, wiping his hands on his jeans before he leans next to Daniel, waiting for his appointment.
The bakery is filled with people, mostly tourists but also a few locals who have some of his cakes and cupcakes and other baked goods and Lando massages his temples, breathing in the familiar smell of the room. It sometimes still feels a bit unreal that he owns his own little bakery now.
That the Toffeenut Bakery is really his. And that he got the rental contract for the little shop in Notting Hill. It’s genuinely hard work but it’s so worth it, especially the wedding cakes and he looks up when he hears the door opening.
He eyes the two young men who just entered the bakery carefully, trying to figure out if they’re his clients or just normal customers. One of them is tall, really tall, with dark hair, blue eyes and incredible cheekbones - he’s wearing tight chino pants and a white dress shirt which is unbuttoned at the top.
He reminds Lando of his posh childhood friends.
The other man is a bit shorter, blonde with brown eyes, a beard stubble on his face and he is wearing shorts and a blue T-Shirt, looking way more casual.
They’re holding hands though, approaching the counter and Lando smiles at them, clearing his throat. “Is by any chance one of you Mr Russell?”
“That’s me,” the tall guy replies with a surprisingly warm smile and, as Lando figured, a very posh accent, extending a slender hand with perfectly manicured nails, “George Russell, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Lando Norris.” Lando shakes it (really praying now there is no dough left under his nails) and he turns to the other man, still smiling. “I assume you are Mr Russell’s fiancé?”
He hates how formal this is, they can’t be much older than him but this is London and he has manners and he’s a professional and he really doesn’t want to offend them or come across as rude. They’re still his clients and not some friends he goes to the pub with.
The blonde man nods and smiles, though his smile is not as welcoming as the one from his partner. Lando is not sure if he likes him but he decides not to judge too quickly - maybe he’s just nervous. And it's not like he has to like his clients.
“I am indeed. Mike Brown.”
“And please, call me George, I’m not that old yet and not at work.” George flashes Lando a small smile, lazily running a hand through his dark hair - he truly looks like a model and Lando tries to guess what he does for a living.
Working as a model seems a bit too obvious so he rules that option out. An actor? Doctor? Lawyer?
Lando somehow doubts George works as a kindergarten teacher.
“Alright, if you two please follow me…” Lando steps out from behind the counter, nodding to the dark green-painted wooden door that leads to the back office of the bakery. George and Mike follow him in the room and Lando, after offering them some water, sits down in front of his MacBook. Some sunshine, that falls in through the two windows, dips the room into a warm light and George crosses his legs while Lando types in the password of his Macbook.
“So you said you’d want some Toffee Apple Caramel cake?” Lando says after checking the email on his laptop again but to his surprise, Mike groans quietly. “George, I told you I fuckin’ hate Toffee Apple Caramel cake.”
“I know, I know, but I just thought we could have one layer of it with toffee apple caramel?” George flashes him an apologetic smile and while Mike just rolls his eyes Lando waits patiently.
Couples arguing about the flavour of their wedding cake is nothing new to him, it happens almost every time. And they almost always settle on some sort of compromise.
“No! It will leak into the other parts and ruin the whole cake!” Mike looks genuinely pissed at the thought of adding some toffee apple caramel to it and Lando frowns. “I can assure you that the flavours of the different layers won’t mix, I-“
“I don’t want Toffee Apple Caramel.” Mike crosses his arms in front of his chest and George takes a deep breath, looking so genuinely sad for a second that Lando feels a wave of sympathy for him. He knows how much effort people put into their wedding planning and how much they look forward to some things, the cake being one of them most of the time.
But not a second later the professional smile is back on George’s face and he shrugs, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. “Alright, what flavours do you want then?”
His voice is calm, with no hint of anger in it and Lando has to say he’s impressed - he’d definitely have been more upset about this if it was his own wedding cake.
But he also loves Toffee Apple Caramel cake so he’s not sure if he isn’t a little biased here.
“Just some lemon curd or cheesecake, it’s just a cake.” Mike waves dismissively and Lando suppresses a deep sigh.
How fucking boring.
He was actually looking forward to doing something special.
“We can definitely do that,” he says anyway, typing on his laptop while trying to come up with some design ideas. “Anything else?”
“Chocolate maybe?” George suggests and when Mike nods Lando adds it to his notes, nodding as well. “Alright, and how many layers?”
“I thought about three or four,” George starts and Lando wants to agree, already having some ideas for the design in mind when Mike groans. “Aren’t two enough?”
“What-“
“Just because you want to impress your fancy lawyer colleagues, it’s so unnecessary.” Mike snorts, shaking his head. “It’s just a cake, George.”
“It’s our wedding cake,” George says pointedly but Mike just rolls his eyes. “Cake is cake, it’ll be gone in an hour anyway.”
“Mike-,“ George starts before he stops himself, sighing deeply and shaking his head. “Whatever. Two layers it is.”
Lando feels really sorry for him at this point but he’s been there multiple times with many couples so he just nods, noting down ‘ lemon curd, chocolate, two layers (groom 2 is a dick)’.
“What about the design?” Lando then asks, looking back up but Mike just shrugs. “I really don’t care. George?”
“Could we maybe have a look at some of your designs to get a rough idea?” George is still incredibly polite and professional, the warm smile back on his face when he looks at Lando and Lando nods quickly, searching through the stack of papers on his desk.
He really needs to get a bit more organised, maybe pull some designs in a folder on his iPad and he frowns when he doesn’t find his sketchbook.
“Mhh, I have some on my website and Instagram account, you could take a look there,” he says, turning back to the couple but George just nods, still smiling. “That’s fine by me, I’ll just come by next week or so and let you know what we settled on.”
“Yep, that’s perfect.” Lando nods quickly, cursing his disorganised mess. “Alright, are you two up for a taste test?”
He actually prepared some Toffee Apple Caramel cake after George’s initial request but thankfully he always has some lemon curd and chocolate cake ready as they are part of his daily selection and he can always pack the Toffee Apple Caramel cake for takeaway and give it to George.
George and Mike both nod and follow Lando into the kitchen, Lando quickly cutting them two slices from the lemon curd and the chocolate cake.
“This is absolutely fantastic!” George exclaims after trying the chocolate slice and Lando tries not to blush - this is not the first time someone compliments his baking skills, he should really start getting used to it. Yet he never really does.
“Yeah, it’s really good,” Mike adds, having tasted the lemon curd and Lando beams. “Thanks! Is there anything else I can do for you?”
There isn’t much more he can offer them given that all they gave him right now were two flavours and the size of the cake but he asks anyway. Trying to appear professional and all. Both shake their heads though and Lando nods, quickly reaching for the box with the Toffee Apple Caramel cake and handing it to George with a small smile.
“The original cake,” he explains when he sees George’s confused look. “You can take it home with you.”
“Oh you’ve prepared- I’m so sorry, I’ll pay for this-“ George looks like he wants to fish for his wallet but Lando firmly shakes his head. “No, it’s absolutely fine, really.”
“You sure?” George eyes him worriedly and Lando nods, deciding that he really likes him. “Yes.”
“Alright then, thank you, Lando.” The warm smile is back on George’s face and Lando tries to ignore the way his heart skips a beat - the man is engaged.
He’s not gonna start falling for an engaged customer now, his life is no rom-com. And he’s not that desperate. He clears his throat, running a hand through his hair and nodding to the door which leads back to the front of the bakery. “If you’re all set…”
“Oh, yes of course!” George nods, reaching for Mike’s hand and they walk back to the counter, Lando smiling. “If that’s all, feel free to come back to me with any design ideas you might have, I’ll try my best to make them work. When is the wedding again?”
“2nd of July,” Mike answers with a small smile on his face and Lando nods. “Perfect, we still have some time until then. I’ll also think of something and if you want another taste test feel free to contact me.”
“We will. Thank you, Lando, and goodbye.” George smiles at him one more time before Mike and he leave the bakery and Lando releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding - appointments with customers always make him a bit nervous.
Which is a bit ironic given that he runs his own bakery and it's part of his job to talk to people but he has Daniel and Sacha for working with customers and sometimes Lance helps out too so he’s rarely behind the counter - mostly just in the mornings and evenings, shortly after opening and before closing times.
“Well he was handsome,” Daniel suddenly comments next to him and Lando flinches, not having heard him come closer. “Jesus, Daniel!”
“What? Just stating facts.” Daniel grins and Lando rolls his eyes. “Who? George or Mike?”
“Is my taste in men really that bad that you even consider me calling Mike handsome??” Daniel looks genuinely offended and Lando grins, making himself some coffee. “I mean, you’re dating Max, so…”
“Bastard.” Daniel laughs loudly, flicking one of the kitchen towels at him before he shakes his head amused. “No, I didn’t like the vibes I got from that Mike guy.”
Lando just shrugs, leaning against the counter with his coffee in one hand, staring at the door through which George and Mike disappeared just a couple of minutes ago. Daniel is already busy with a new customer and Lando sighs, shaking his head.
Whatever.
There is still the wedding cake for a certain Jack Aitken he needs to finish - a lovely guy, really, his girlfriend Alex being just as sweet as he.